Excerpt:
Shivalik Hills, Nepal
The towering pair of boulders stood
as gatekeepers and markers of the way. A steep path snaked between them until
farther down the hill, the road disappeared in thick fog. Leaning on the
closest rock, Hagen steadied himself to catch his breath, then pushed on.
Bloodlust crippled his Titanian
vision. Still, he stumbled, rolled, and crawled over jagged rocks and gnarled
roots with single-minded determination to reach his appointed meeting place,
the cavern at the base of the Shivaliks, and the sole entrance to Hades’s
domain on the earthly plane. A perverse satisfaction filled him each time he
scraped and sliced his exposed skin, as this was only a precursor to the
punishment he deserved. If he could shred his flesh to strips in anticipation
as he had done with his clothes, so much the better.
Hagen advanced through the haze,
seeking the deity’s promised signal. Images of his frenzy during the last
skirmish prodded him. He strained past gore-filled images, and the effort paid
off. There, deep within the haze, a faint red light marked the spot. Alecto had
not forgotten. A hitched breath escaped his lungs as he stood and trod on a
more secure step.
As the haze dissipated, the cavern’s
hungry mouth gaped before him. Healing and deliverance acquired through pain
would soon be his. As he inched closer to the wavering light, he removed the
last remaining strips of clothing. The offering had to be bare and
unadulterated. Nothing but skin would satisfy the Fury, purify his spirit, and
postpone the horror of termination for another ten years—a mere blip in the lifespan
of a Titanian. And yet, a decade offered hope and an opportunity to continue
his search for true salvation: his eternal mate.
His brother Soren had been at the
edge of obliteration when the universe revealed Maya’s symbol in his scrolls.
He’d been given a Simurgh, no less, the most powerful of all phoenix mates.
Soren’s joy and deliverance had pleased Hagen without reservation or a covetous
thought. His brother had earned such a high reward.
But what about him? Was he unworthy
of an eternal mate, of love, and companionship? He’d only wished for a small
slice of heaven. His cousin Roald had found eternal happiness with Ginny.
Staring at an endless existence of service and loneliness was a frightening
prospect for a Titanian of any rank.
Hagen could never be the brilliant
fighter Soren was, and had, on occasion, not followed every command to the
letter. Nevertheless, he’d proven his mettle and unwavering loyalty to the
Titanian cause in and out of combat. Many a night, he’d promised to change his
unorthodox ways and toe the line, if only the universe would grant him a
phoenix mate.
Alas no, he’d been denied time and
again. After witnessing from the sidelines the mating ceremony and resulting
Titanian bliss, frustration burned a hole in his chest. Before the emotion
turned to bitterness, he’d escaped to his old daemon hunting grounds in Asia.
On his flight back, he realized that
his cherished airplane and state-of-the-art electronic gadgets no longer
satisfied or entertained him. Even that last bit of gratification had been
taken from him. Because seeing happiness unfold for Soren and Roald had
displayed in real time what mattered: the completion a mate brought to a
Titanian’s soul. The beaming couples had stepped up onto a new plane of
existence. After witnessing their ascendance, no fancy equipment could ever
fulfill him.
The hole in his chest turned black
and cold.
Blood hunger, the deadly lust,
awoke.
Visions tortured him. Rage drove him
to living nightmares. He searched for minion hideouts and sought conflict at
every turn. In the heat of these encounters, bloodlust blinded him to allies
and friends who’d trusted him with their lives. Asian black bear and clouded
leopard shifters had perished under his hands. While his bewildered, dying
friends pleaded for their lives, he’d only seen minions. The red haze
controlled him, and he’d indulged the insatiable hunger to spill all blood.
The last clash had been the worst.
Standing on a promontory, Hagen viewed an endless battlefield stained with red
blood, green ooze, and mutilated remains. And as the mental fog cleared, horror
captured his soul and he fell on his knees, begging the universe for help.
The chthonic deity, the implacable Alecto, heard and replied in his mind.
“Await my arrival at the place of
atonement.”
Explanations had not been necessary.
Hagen’s Titanian spirit, same as every supernatural in the earthly plane, knew
the location of the terrible gate. In eras past, he’d avoided going near it.
Now, stripped to his natural state, defeated and humbled, he entered the
darkness with a bowed head and an anxious demeanor.
To his right, four stonelike posts,
spread in a rectangular formation, jutted out of the rock wall. Hagen studied
them, unsure of what to do.
“Step in. Face out and clasp the
posts. Place your ankles outside each one,” the Fury instructed.
“Receive and accept the pain,
Titanian. Do not flinch or resist. Show your contrition. Only then will the
universe accept your offering.”